Posts tagged with ‘relative’

The images below are of a text message chat I had last year with one of our dear members, Dmtry The Russian. It was following a workout that involved three barbell movements and the prescribed guideline load was your body weight. I trained in the class after Dmtry and when I got there he was still in the trenches, trying to complete the workout right at the time cap. I told him I’d kick his ass in the workout. I apologise for the poor quality of the image and my colourful language!

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Dmtry did the maths. Although it’s not the most accurate calculation of power output, it shows that I had a far greater power output than him. I did kick his ass. He chose the guideline load of his body weight and that resulted in a time of 28 minutes. I went with 10kg under my bodyweight and finished in 17:50. Did he work hard? Absolutely. Was his workout effective? Not in the least. He didn’t get stronger (because it wasn’t designed to be a strength workout), nor did he increase his capacity (which was the primary goal of that workout).

He felt like he worked hard. But intensity isn’t a feeling. It’s based on how much work you do relative to the time you do it in. And the only way you’ll ever achieve the intended benefits of a workout is by modifying it to your abilities.

What you see on the whiteboard is a guideline, and along with the coach’s directions on the intended benefits of the workout, that gives you a template for that day’s session. You will almost always need to modify the session in some way. How do you do that? We use a simple guide:

First reduce the technical demand of the movement/s. This is especially so for barbell and gymnastics movements.

Reduce the load–put less kilograms on the bar. We can also reduce load on gymnastics movements.

Reduce volume (reps/distance/sets/calories/etc.). This is probably done the least yet is so effective.

That order changes depending on the workout, but you should be doing some form of modification most of the time, regardless of your experience. Remember, the programming isn’t based on what you all used to be able to do. It’s based on where you could be.

Let’s get straight to the point: Can you complete the workout as it is prescribed (as RXd), and should you? It’s a simple yes or no answer to both questions, but it seems to be such a conundrum for many.

Can refers to your ability to perform the movements and/or loads that have been prescribed. Remember, the workout you see on the blog and on the whiteboards is a guideline to ensure that everyone achieves the desired outcome of that workout. Given that everyone is different, everyone performs a modified version of the workout that’s relative to their goals and abilities to ensure that the desired outcome of the workout is achieved.

The question of can you perform the movements/loads as you see it on the whiteboard simply refers to whether you can or can’t complete at least a few repetitions of that task, not taking into account the entire workout. Can you do the RXd workout? If no, modify to ensure that you move with good technique AND intensity while meeting the objectives of the workout. If yes, the next question is should you?

You should complete the workout as RXd only IF you will be able to do so with the desired intensity.

The guidelines loads and reps, the time domains set, and the expectations the coaches give you in class are all there to help you decide on whether you should attempt the workout as RXd or not. There is no point attempting a workout as RXd because you can do everything if you aren’t going to get the right amount of work done within the right amount of time.

If you halve the time of a workout, you double your power output even if you had a lighter load. Double, no ifs ands or buts, double!

Given that power output (which is exactly defined as intensity) is the one variable most closely associated with favourable adaptations to exercise, you should be aiming to optimise your power output at every workout. And that means smartly modifying and scaling the workout, 99% of the time.

Note: “scaling” the amount of reps down to enable you to do the RXd loads is not smart scaling, it’s stupid.

The RXd workout is a guideline and certainly something to work towards. But it’s not a destination.

On our About Us page we’ve always had a line that reads “Sure, CrossFit can be tough, but it gets results.” You do need to work hard to get results, and we certainly get you working hard. But hard work only covers an area in the big picture of lifelong health and fitness. Training with us can be as tough as you make it.

Enjoying improved fitness through life requires that you remain injury free and enjoy what you’re doing. While group training is part of what we offer, how to stay injury free while having fun and getting results means something different for everyone. It means different load and repetitions for you, different movements for the next, a slower pace for him, more intensity for her, catching up instead of doing the warm-up perfectly, and for some it may mean an entirely different workout of the day.

How hard you go is relative to your “hard” for that day, and it doesn’t mean a thing. You coming in just to move is doing more than the overwhelming majority of the population on the couch.

Listen to your body and tell the coaches what it’s saying. There are countless variations and substitutions for what we’re doing on the day. Come in instead of avoiding a session; stay instead of ninja bombing out! And if all that you need is to come in and hang out without training or exercising, do it. That’s what CFJ has always been – your third place.

But, get uncomfortable and test the limits of your abilities often. Life will demand that of you!